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Sightline to Safety

Belleville's fire department and a local philanthropist group are getting behind a program geared toward creating equality in Ontario legislation.

While Ontario laws make it mandatory for audible smoke detectors to be located in all homes, there are no such requirements for visual detectors for those who cannot hear or are hard of hearing. Such detectors are also considerably more expensive than audible models making it difficult for some residents to purchase them.

Recognizing this the Sightline to Safety program was launched by Severn Fire and Emergency Services and Brockville Fire and Emergency Services in partnership with the Canadian Hearing Society. The program asks people who are culturally deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing to register with their local fire department and sign up for home assessment. In addition, the program is pushing for legislation changes when it comes to visual alarms.

Locally, the Belleville fire department has joined the Sightline to Safety program and the Bridge Street United Church Foundation has made a $3,000 donation to assist with the purchase of visual detectors.

John Lake, senior fire prevention officer, said becoming involved with the “excellent program” made sense considering the high number of deaf individuals who live in Belleville. He said they have had 54 people register already.

“We input that information in to our dispatch systems so if we get a call for that house when the dispatcher is dispatching it will come up on the screen that there are people in the home who are deaf or hard of hearing,” said Lake.

The other portion of that involves a home inspection by the fire department specifically geared toward the deaf. Lake said the need for the visual smoke detectors is stressed during such inspections despite the fact, under the Ontario Fire Code, homes are not required to have them.

Anna Strati-Morrison, regional program manager with Canadian Hearing Society, explained, through an interpreter, the need to have those visual detectors in homes is a matter of safety.

“It's a big battle for us. They're extremely expensive and there are some deaf people who are on disability pensions and there are others who are working and don't receive any funding and these alarms cost between $500 and $1,500 depending on the size of the house, how many floors there are and how many are needed,” she said, noting audible detectors can be purchased for as little as $10. “We need to find some funding so, at the same time that we're fighting to get this in to legislation we're really concerned that we have deaf and hard of hearing people, right now, who are in danger.”

Rev. David Mundy of Bridge Street United Church said he's hoping the donation from the foundation, a group that has spent the past 40 years providing grants to local, national and international causes, assists in removing that danger.

“This is such an important project and we're glad to help out,” he said. “What a lovely thing it is to be able to assist in this cause.”